Umbrella Design does the corporate branding for VE Commercial Vehicles

VE Commercial Vehicles is a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors

Umbrella, the design firm, has a new project. It is in the process of completing the corporate brand identity for VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors.

VECV is a 50:50 joint venture to sell the Eicher range of trucks and buses, as well as the Volvo range of trucks. This is the first time in India that a joint venture company has chosen to have an identity that is distinct from its parent companies.

Mangesh Zemse, senior designer, Umbrella, shares the though process behind the logo. The parallel lines are supposed to be a metaphor for the fact that despite coming together, each parent brand retains its individuality. "On the other hand," he adds, "the white space between the parallel lines creates the impression of a road, a graphic that is relevant for a commercial vehicles company."

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The colour blue in the logo (the colour of the Volvo logo) symbolises stability, trust, confidence and technology; whereas red (the colour of the Eicher logo) stands for energy, speed, aggression, strength and power. Black, the colour of the logotype, though neutral, adds sophistication and professionalism.

Farhad Elavia, chief operating officer, Umbrella adds, "The project comprised creation of the brand identity and all its applications, from business cards, showroom, workshop and in-campus signage to the challan given out at the authorised service centres."

"There is no co-badging of products and we had to critically ensure that each product is well-branded and the customer can feel the product brand at all touch points. Given this scenario, the challenge was to have a corporate brand which reflects the vision of the organisation and the ethos of the two commercial vehicle giants coming together as VECV," says Humsa Dhir, head, corporate communications, VECV.

"The vision of VECV is to drive modernisation in commercial transportation in India and the developing world. And our logo is reflective of what we are and what we aspire to do", she adds.

VECV is operational since July 2008 and has over 3,000 employees. Its sales and support network comprises more than 300 points across the country. Outside of India, the group has offices in USA and China.